Rooster Flock Thread

[ZurcherFarms]

Here's a little better picture.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

I'm introducing some younger Cockerels into my rooster flock today. I have them in a separate cage so they can still see each other. They won't all be together for too long, I just long enough for me to choose which ones are going in my breeding pens, which will be back ups and which will be culls.

My question is, what are people feeding their rooster flocks? Mine all under 4 months, and they're still eating medicated 18% chick feed. I know the extra calcium in layer feed isn't good for them, so do you go to meat grower? My oldest birds just started dropping weight over the last two weeks, but no one is fighting...

I feed mine flock raiser. You could also try grower feed or all flock.

 

[BiggJohnn]

We have a flock of roosters. For the most part they all get along well. We have one little hen that free ranges with the roosters. There’s 10 roosters total, 2 are in a pen so 8 freerange all day. They fought but now all seems well. I did have to get rid of one. Broke my heart! I know they are food, or livestock but I hatched them, I fed them & protected them for this long.. lol.. I felt HORRIBLE!! But he kept fighting, he was the only one. I’m sure my neighbors are not happy about all the roos but I’m agriculturally exempt so I can have a Ton of the !! Lol..
I really want to get a few of those tiny tiny Roos & hens!! I have bantams but they are no way near that small.
Thanks all!

 

[Amer]

We have a flock of roosters. For the most part they all get along well. We have one little hen that free ranges with the roosters. There’s 10 roosters total, 2 are in a pen so 8 freerange all day. They fought but now all seems well. I did have to get rid of one. Broke my heart! I know they are food, or livestock but I hatched them, I fed them & protected them for this long.. lol.. I felt HORRIBLE!! But he kept fighting, he was the only one. I’m sure my neighbors are not happy about all the roos but I’m agriculturally exempt so I can have a Ton of the !! Lol..
I really want to get a few of those tiny tiny Roos & hens!! I have bantams but they are no way near that small.
Thanks all!

Love your avatar!

 

[BiggJohnn]

Love your avatar!

Thanks. That’s our “Wildling” rooster & his chicks.

 

[Skipper81]

I have 5 roosters 8 months of age. They are all brothers or at least they all have the same dad.
I've had there coops all separated and each one has 3 hens. Just got a call that I have to transfer unexpectedly to Tennessee so if I brought the flock I would have to build 1 coop and run at the new house. So I figured let's see how they do. I let all my hens and roosters out the last couple days for a short period every day. I'm very very suprised the ones I thought would fight don't fight. They all got along great and avoided conflict except my wyandotte sexlink mix roo. He's high stress and tried to eliminate 2 of his larger brothers and if I didn't stop him he would have. This is the roo that acted like a hen until he was 6 months old. He first crowed at 7 months and wasn't interested in the ladies until then also.
So it looks like he will be the only one separated at the new house from the rest of the flock. He did get along with my dog which is odd. Thought I'd share as I'm learning new things with my flock everyday and this is going to be white a journey 2000 miles.

 

[Harmony Fowl]

We have a flock of roosters. For the most part they all get along well. We have one little hen that free ranges with the roosters. There’s 10 roosters total, 2 are in a pen so 8 freerange all day. They fought but now all seems well. I did have to get rid of one. Broke my heart! I know they are food, or livestock but I hatched them, I fed them & protected them for this long.. lol.. I felt HORRIBLE!! But he kept fighting, he was the only one. I’m sure my neighbors are not happy about all the roos but I’m agriculturally exempt so I can have a Ton of the !! Lol..
I really want to get a few of those tiny tiny Roos & hens!! I have bantams but they are no way near that small.
Thanks all!

This is in part in response to you, but also to anyone. If I understand you correctly, you have roosters that free range and another flock with hens that doesn’t? Can the roosters approach the other flock at the fence?

We currently have eight cockerels, 3-4 months old. The keepers have already been selected and I’m trying to formulate a plan for the other six. Three are staying only a couple more weeks before I try to sell them, but the other three the family wants to keep as pets. I’m fine with that, but they cannot stay with their flock. We already have the two roosters we want, there are not enough hens or space for all of them, and I don’t want all of them breeding.

But I could potentially make a small coop for the three and let them free range. Does it matter that they can walk right up to the fence and interact with the other flock? Will that cause problems? What about the possibility of free ranging together? I’m guessing that might cause problems? The birds all know one another now, but conflict is on the rise as the cockerels mature. Would more space be enough with three free ranging while the other two hang with the flock that only free ranges part time? We have 18 hens with more always on the way.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

We have a flock of roosters. For the most part they all get along well. We have one little hen that free ranges with the roosters. There’s 10 roosters total, 2 are in a pen so 8 freerange all day. They fought but now all seems well. I did have to get rid of one. Broke my heart! I know they are food, or livestock but I hatched them, I fed them & protected them for this long.. lol.. I felt HORRIBLE!! But he kept fighting, he was the only one. I’m sure my neighbors are not happy about all the roos but I’m agriculturally exempt so I can have a Ton of the !! Lol..
I really want to get a few of those tiny tiny Roos & hens!! I have bantams but they are no way near that small.
Thanks all!

I have a cockerel like that, he constantly bullies one other rooster in the flock. I hope he'll grow out of it, or I'll have to give him a separate pen or put him with my hens. Was your rooster a young cockerel? It could explain his aggressive attitude.

I have 5 roosters 8 months of age. They are all brothers or at least they all have the same dad.
I've had there coops all separated and each one has 3 hens. Just got a call that I have to transfer unexpectedly to Tennessee so if I brought the flock I would have to build 1 coop and run at the new house. So I figured let's see how they do. I let all my hens and roosters out the last couple days for a short period every day. I'm very very suprised the ones I thought would fight don't fight. They all got along great and avoided conflict except my wyandotte sexlink mix roo. He's high stress and tried to eliminate 2 of his larger brothers and if I didn't stop him he would have. This is the roo that acted like a hen until he was 6 months old. He first crowed at 7 months and wasn't interested in the ladies until then also.
So it looks like he will be the only one separated at the new house from the rest of the flock. He did get along with my dog which is odd. Thought I'd share as I'm learning new things with my flock everyday and this is going to be white a journey 2000 miles.

Even if they don't fight each other, you have to worry about all those cockerels over-mating the hens. Do you have a plan in case that happens?

This is in part in response to you, but also to anyone. If I understand you correctly, you have roosters that free range and another flock with hens that doesn’t? Can the roosters approach the other flock at the fence?

We currently have eight cockerels, 3-4 months old. The keepers have already been selected and I’m trying to formulate a plan for the other six. Three are staying only a couple more weeks before I try to sell them, but the other three the family wants to keep as pets. I’m fine with that, but they cannot stay with their flock. We already have the two roosters we want, there are not enough hens or space for all of them, and I don’t want all of them breeding.

But I could potentially make a small coop for the three and let them free range. Does it matter that they can walk right up to the fence and interact with the other flock? Will that cause problems? What about the possibility of free ranging together? I’m guessing that might cause problems? The birds all know one another now, but conflict is on the rise as the cockerels mature. Would more space be enough with three free ranging while the other two hang with the flock that only free ranges part time? We have 18 hens with more always on the way.

It doesn't matter if they can interact with each other through a fence, especially if it's only when they're free ranging. I doubt it would work out to have your cockerels free range with the other flock unless they get along well with the other roosters.

 

[Skipper81]

In gonna go with hens in coop and roosters in the barn. They are in the hormonal stage so they might fight a little.

 

[BiggJohnn]

Got a better pic of my rooster flock.